Ski racing icon Bob Fisher, father of Olympian Abbi, dies at 80

By Published On: July 10th, 2006Comments Off on Ski racing icon Bob Fisher, father of Olympian Abbi, dies at 80

Ski racing icon Bob Fisher, father of Olympian Abbi, dies at 80Robert Fisher, 80, a passionate ski racer and father of former U.S. Olympian Abbi Fisher, passed away on June 30.

Although a lifelong literary scholar and teacher, he was equally passionate about skiing and shared a tremendous love of the outdoors with his wife, Pamela T. Fisher, over their 55 years of marriage. Starting on the modest slopes of Mount Pisgah in Saranac Lake, New York, Fisher continued his passion for skiing as captain of the Williams College ski team.

He continued to compete nationally and internationally, until his 77th birthday. Not surprisingly, his children and grandchildren shared his love of skiing, also competing and excelling in regional, national and international competition.

Some of his fondest memories included watching his wife compete in numerous national sasters championships; his daughter Abigail compete in the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, and Lake Placid; his daughter Susan win a masters national championships at Big Mountain, Montana, his son Timothy coach for Dartmouth College and the Ford Sayre ski team, as well as his two grandsons, Jacob and Nathaniel, compete for the UNH ski team.

In addition, he shared his passion for the sport by co-founding N.H. Girls High School Ski Racing in 1965. After teaching at Wesleyan, Dartmouth and Proctor Academy, he settled in at Kennett High School, where for 20 years he taught, coached, inspired and entertained his students with a combination of a keen insight into English and American literature, a fascination for creative writing and poetry and a remarkable ability to mix his love of guitar playing, theatrics, drama and humor into his classroom.

In addition to ski racing, he and Pam traveled extensively around the globe, many times via bicycle or by foot. Having traveled to every continent, they shared adventures (and some misadventures) in Australia, Nepal, Africa, South America, Europe and virtually every corner of North America. When not skiing, bicycling or globe trotting, they shared their love of gardening, fly fishing, tennis, sailing and most recently, golf.

Fisher was born Sept. 17, 1925, in Saranac Lake, the son of the late Monroe and Corrine (Hooker) Fisher. He married Pamela Trenor on Jan. 17, 1950, in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

After graduating from Saranac Lake High School in 1941 at the age of 16, Fisher attended Williams College, and after serving in the U.S. Air Force as a navigator, he graduated with degree in philosophy in 1947. He then pursued a law degree, graduating from Harvard Law School in 1948. His quest for academic and literary knowledge led him to Breadloaf at Middlebury College, where he earned his master’s degree in English, in 1954. He then pursued his doctorate in English literature at the University of Colorado, writing his thesis on the humor of Thomas Hardy.

He is survived by his wife, Pamela (Trenor) Fisher of South Conway, a son, Timothy Fisher and his wife Prudence of Lyme, N.H., three daughters, Susan Rose and her husband Robert Rose of Stowe, Vermont, Abigail Fisher-Gould and her husband Frank Gould of Sun Valley, Idaho, and Megan Graham of Scituate, Mass., and his grandchildren, Jacob Fisher, Nathaniel Fisher, Oliver Fisher, Addie Belle Fisher, Hannah Rose, William Rose, Timothy Gould and Trenor Gould.

A memorial service will be held Thursday, July 20 at 11 a.m. at the Fisher’ residence, Swallowbarn, at 615 Potter Road in South Conway, with the Reverend Mary Giles Edes of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship presiding. Donations may be made in his memory to the Bob Fisher Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o Smith Barney, 46 Centerra Parkway, Suite 101, Lebanon, NH 03766.

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About the Author: Pete Rugh